AMARANTHE's ELIZE RYD On Upcoming Album: 'Musically, We're Heavier!'
June 3, 2018Swedish melodic metallers AMARANTHE recently completed work on their fifth album at Hansen Studios in Ribe, Denmark with producer Jacob Hansen (VOLBEAT, EPICA, DELAIN). The follow-up to 2016's "Maximalism" will mark the band's first release with DYNAZTY's Nils Molin, who officially joined AMARANTHE in July 2017 as the replacement for Jake E.
Singer Elize Ryd told Roppongi Rocks about AMARANTHE's new disc: "After two months of writing and two months of recording in Ribe with Jacob Hansen, we're finally finished. It's a record for us to write and record an album in four months. That says a lot. We had a lot of ideas and melodies that needed to get out."
Regarding the musical direction of the new AMARANTHE material, Elize said: "Musically, we're heavier! For the sake of our Japanese fans, we have written the fastest song in AMARANTHE history, tempo-wise. We have managed to make most of the songs contemporary sounding, which I think is what should be the biggest difference between the albums. You should be able to hear what year an album was written when you listen to it in the future. I think people will be somewhat shocked by the sound we've created this time, in a positive way."
Elize also talked about Molin's contributions to the new AMARANTHE record. She said: "In the beginning, I was reacting to the 'new' voice and it felt a bit unusual. But when I listen to it now, his voice feels like a given in this context. We are very satisfied with Nils. He's done an amazing job. It's going to be extremely fun to be able to present him to the fans, not only live but also on record."
Having previously used Chris Adam Hedman Sörbye from the band SMASH INTO PIECES as a stand-in for Jake on some of the shows in 2016 and in early 2017, AMARANTHE recruited Molin for three Swedish concerts in March 2017 and he has been part of the group's live appearances ever since.
Jake E announced his departure from AMARANTHE in February 2017, explaining at the time that he began to feel that "my place both on the albums and live was reduced; I felt like I was superfluous… I started to feel more like a backing singer." He has since launched a new band called CYHRA with former IN FLAMES members Peter Iwers (bass) and Jesper Strömblad (guitar) alongside LUCA TURILLI'S RHAPSODY drummer Alex Landenburg.
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